Students on the Melosira: this UVM research vessel is one of many vehicles for outdoor experimentation and research.

The stable-isotope lab in Geology's Delehanty Hall is one of the many top-notch laboratories available to ENSC students.

Facilities

On-campus

The cross-disciplinary nature of Environmental Sciences results in a dynamic pool of state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories from which to draw. Some of these facilities include:

Spatial analysis laboratory: Located in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, the laboratory specializes in, but is not limited to, applying techniques in GIS to: land-cover mapping, planning for conservation lands, and development of new applications for natural resource management.

Newly renovated labs and classrooms of Delehanty Hall: The Geology Department's recent facelift resulted in remarkable new facilities that ENSC majors use often:

Cosmogenic isotope lab: Only a handful of these exist in the country. With the help of such laboratories to study Earth's surface processes, scientists can now measure the age of landforms and the rate at which they change.

Environmental stable isotope lab: Isotope analysis is a standard tool for geologists, biologists, ecologists and all scientists studying elemental or material cycles in the environment as well as global climate change.

Limnogeology lab: This lab specializes in lake sediments to reconstruct environmental changes of the past.

Mircobial geochemistry lab: This lab's equipment is used in studying the role microbes plan in natural processes.

Off-campus

Venturing a bit from campus finds Environmental Sciences students in any number of research centers, natural areas and laboratories. The program's most strategic notion is its location in nature's lap; Vermont's indigenous resources reflect that.

Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory: Based at the $14.5 million Leahy ECHO Center for Lake Champlain on Burlington's waterfront, this UVM laboratory is an extension of the Aiken Center and offers students a chance to work on a variety of lake-related projects.

Melosira: Our 45-foot research vessel is docked at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory and used for classes and to investigate issues such as invasive species and blue-green algae blooms in Lake Champlain.

UVM Natural Areas: At 365 acres, the Jericho Research Forest is the largest, most widely used forest
protected by UVM. The university uses several other natural areas, from bogs to alpine mountaintops, and quarries to woodlands, as outdoor laboratories. Learn more about our natural areas.